


you must be fireproof

by outofaith



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: CEO Liam, Cancer, Engagement, Lawyer Niall Horan, M/M, Rich Liam Payne, Singer Harry Styles, no mcd tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 01:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19096540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outofaith/pseuds/outofaith
Summary: Zayn and Liam were a living breathing fairytale, nothing could go wrong. Until, of course, it did.





	you must be fireproof

Friday, 11:45p.m., 2016

“C'mon, Zaynie, just one more, please?”

Zayn sighed as he looked at Harry, his eyes red and his curls messy, a lazy grin firmly in place.

“Last one, Haz.” He shouted over the music and Harry laughed, waving at the bartender to bring them another round. “Did you find the guy you were looking for?”

“I'm working on it.” Harry said as his eyes sweeped over the crowd on the dance floor and over to the VIP area.

They were at a high end club in Manhattan that Harry somehow convinced him to go to for no other reason than the fact that their midterms were over. He supposed it was better than the alternative frat party.

Zayn smirked at his friend and nudged at his side.

“You know you only want him 'cause of his butt.” Harry laughed then.

“Obviously.” He smirked as his eyes landed on a black clad figure coming down from the VIP area. “Gotcha. Don't wait up, Z.”

Zayn rolled his eyes as Harry tossed back the shot and made his way towards his most recent crush.

He looked over to the crowd as he mulled over what he would do next. He could definitetly try to pull or he could just go home, smoke a joint and binge watch the Golden Girls.

He was almost convincing himself about the last alternative when a heavy hand settled on his lower back.

“Hello, there.” A deep voice said on his ear, the guy's lips almost touching him.

Zayn turned around, ready to tell the guy to piss off and go home himself, but the words died on his tongue as his eyes met the stranger in front of him.

He was taller than Zayn, by at least seven inches, built like a godddamned wall, his eyes were a warm chocolate color that looked at Zayn with clear interest and his lips were red, stretched on a predatory grin. Zayn roamed his body then. He was wearing nice fitting jeans, a black shirt with the firsts few buttons undone and a black jacket.

Zayn smirked at him.

“Hello.” He tilted his head to the side.

“I'm Liam.”

“Zayn.” He nodded and kept looking at the guy, who smirked.

“Tell me Zayn, why do you look so bored tonight?”

“Don't know.” He shrugged. “Maybe I'm just looking for someone to entertain me.”

Liam laughed at that.

“I was thinking, maybe you want to join me over there?” He pointed over his shoulder at the VIP area and the smirk in his face was filthy. “Maybe I could find a way to entertain you.”

Zayn smirked and arched an eyebrow.

“Maybe you could.” He nodded. He turned around then and tossed back his shot. “Lead the way.”

Liam, his smirk firmly in place, leaned down and kissed the corner of his mouth, he took his hand and guided both of them to the VIP leather couches.

“Same as before Mr. Payne?” A blonde girl asked as soon as they sat down and he nodded.

“Do you want anything?” He asked Zayn.

“Whatever you’re having is good for me.”

Zayn couldn't be sure, but he tought he saw Liam smile at him.

“You come here often then?”

“You could say that, yeah.” Liam nodded and looked Zayn over.

Two glasses of whisky were placed in front of them and Zayn cringed.

Liam handed him one of the glasses and took a sip of his own, watching with interest as Zayn took the smallest of the sips of his own glass.

“Not really your thing, I take?” Liam asked, amusement clear in his eyes and Zayn fought down the embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

“I'm good.” He nodded and Liam chuckled.

They talked then. Not about their lifes. But they traded looks and fitlhy smiles, lazy hands making their ways over tighs and being placed on the small of Zayn's back to bring him closer to the other man.

At some point, both of them had made their way out of the club and inside a big, black car. Next thing Zayn knew they were at the lobby of a big hotel, making their way to the elevator and going straight to the last floor.

Saturday, 9:30 a.m.

Zayn groaned as he woke up next morning, a heavy arm over his waist, holding him close to a warm, firm body.

“Fuck.” Zayn whispered.

He freed himself and was halfway into buttoning his pants when a deep voice called him over.

“Didn't really peg you for the type to sneak out.”

He looked over to a very naked Liam on the bed, the same smirk from last night still in place.

“Didn't mean to wake you.” Zayn confessed, all of his drunken bravado suddenly leaving, making him feel small and naked under the gaze of this older man who he didn't really know.

“It's okay.” Liam assessed him.

He looked at the skinny boy in front of him, shirtless and with his pants still unbuttoned, his hair messy, big eyes looking anywhere but at him, cheeks growing progressively redder.

“Let me at least treat you to some breakfast.” Liam proposed, his eyes softening the more he looked at Zayn.

Zayn nodded and quickly averted his eyes as Liam stood up and went to the main area of the suite to call for room service.

“You didn't have to pay for my breakfast.” Zayn mumbled as he sat down after the food arrived.

“Oh, don't worry, I'm not paying for it.” Liam dismissed as he sipped his coffee.

“You're not, like, going out without paying right?”

“What? No.” Liam laughed at him, looking at Zayn with interest. “Do you know my name, Zayn?”

“Liam, right? You told me this last night.”

“Well, yes, but my last name.” He wondered and his eyes widened as he shook his head.

“Should I?” Zayn inquired.

“Not really.” Liam dismissed.

“Aren't you going to tell me, then?” Zayn asked a bit annoyed and Liam grinned.

“I think I'll let you find out.” Liam smiled.

They talked over breakfast, a bit about their lives, mostly about Zayn and his studies in Columbia.

When they were done with breakfast, Liam handed him a black businness card and kissed his cheek with a wink.

It took Zayn exactly five seconds after he was back at his dorm to find out that he had slept with Liam Payne, CEO of Payne Industries and owner of the most expensive hotels around the world, also, owner of the very same club they were at the night before.

He decided, right then, that he was never seeing Liam Payne again.

It didn’t really work. But Zayn swears that he tried.

Saturday, 7:30p.m., 2019

Zayn groaned as he felt a warm hand stroking his back under the covers.

“C'mon, baby, you've got to wake up, we have to get ready to go to Harry and Lou's.”

“Can't we just reschedule? You do that to your clients.” He mumbled and heard a deep laugh.

“Not to our friends, Z. C'mon.”

Zayn sighed then and opened his eyes, smiling as he looked to the side and his eyes met Liam's.

He had tried to stay away from him after he found out who he was, back in college, but he didn't really succeed. Much like Harry and Louis.

“I'm just so tired.” He confessed and Liam laughed at him.

“Aren't you always, love?” His face turned more serious then. “Did your headache got any better?”

“A bit, yeah.” Zayn answered and groaned as he got up. “A hot shower, that's going to help.”

Liam nodded and looked at his back as Zayn made his way to the bathroom.

As he was nearing the door, Zayn stumbled a bit and Liam stood up to go to him.

“Z?”

“It’s okay, Li, really.” Zayn laughed it off. “Just sleepy, still.”

Liam nodded, but watched closely as Zayn swiflty entered the bathroom, the door softly clicking behind him.

They got showered and dressed in an hour, making their way to their friends’ penthouse so they could celebrate Harry's new album.

“Aren't you surprised that Haz decided to celebrate this one only with us?” Liam wondered as their car came to a stop in front of the building.

“Not really. Harry told me this one was different than the others. Just the two of them, us and Niall.”

That was another thing, Niall. They had met Niall through Liam and Louis, who were friends and went way back. Niall, apparently, was the best lawyer Liam and Louis could ever ask for, he represented only Liam's company and Louis' record label and it surely paid off. He was also a great friend to all of them.

They rode the elevator up to the last floor and were greeted by a smiling Harry.

“Tought you two had gotten lost.” He said as he hugged both of them, his curls tickling their faces.

“You know we would never miss it, Haz.” Zayn smiled as Liam handed Louis a bottle of wine.

The group made their way to the big living room where Niall was, apparently, eating all of Harry's selection of cheese.

Zayn grinned when Harry's only reaction was to roll his eyes and fetch some more, not even bothering to say anything about it.

During the night they laughed and traded stories and jokes, wine flowing freely.

“Zaynie?” Harry called him. “Why aren't you drinking?” He asked with a pout.

“I have a bit of a headache, Haz. Don't wanna do anything to make it worse.”

“Well, why didn't you say anything sooner?” Louis asked him and got up from the couch, going to the kitchen.

He emerged five minutes later with a cup of tea and some painkillers, handing it to Zayn.

“Here, mate.”

“Thanks, Lou.” He said and snuggled up closer to Liam.

“Are you okay?” Liam asked in his ear when he shuddered.

“Yeah.” He smiled. “Just need to splash some water on my face.”

Zayn got up from the couch and stumbled a bit.

“Woah there, Zaynie.” Niall stabilized him. “Lou, what did you put on his tea?”

“Nothing!” Louis frowned.

“It's nothing guys, just got up a bit too fast.” He dismissed them and took a deep breath.

Four sets of eyes watched worriedly as he made his way to the hallway and four men quickly rose up from their places on the couch when they heard a crash.

Zayn collapsed.

10:40 p.m.

Zayn woke up to a white room and low murmurs. His first reaction was to groan and, immediately, Liam was by his side.

“What happened?”

“You fainted, love.” Liam answered and Zayn cringed.

He was about to ask for the rest of the boys when his eyes landed on a tall man by the door.

“Hello?” He said and the man with gray hair smiled.

“Hello Zayn, I'm Doctor Cooper, if you don't mind, I have a few questions for you.” At Zayn's nod, the doctor smiled. “Your fiancé mentioned that you've been having headaches the past few weeks, have you been feeling dizzy?”

“A little bit, yeah.” Zayn nodded.

“Any nausea?” Zayn nodded and the doctor grew more serious. “Drowsiness, fatigue or sleep problems?”

“I've been feeling really tired all the time.” He said and bit his lip, Liam's hand gripping his firmly.

“I see... Have you been feeling any changes in your mood? Like lashing out for small things that otherwise wouldn’t bother you?”

“I don’t really know...” He tried to think back but it was Liam who answered it.

“Well babe, the other day you cried because you couldn’t find your watch and you did almost break a glass of wine because your favorite movie wasn’t loading.”

Zayn felt his cheeks redden and looked down, sighing softly as he felt Liam kissing the top of his head.

“I would like to run a few tests, Zayn, would that be okay?” Dr. Cooper said and Zayn nodded. 

The doctor approached the bed where Zayn was sitting and took out a small flashlight.

“Just follow the light, yes?” 

After that, Dr. Cooper wrote something down on his folder, his face more serious as the seconds passed.

“Alright, I want to do a MRI, just to make sure that everything is okay.” 

Liam and Zayn looked at one another, their faces worried, their hands firmly clasped. 

“I tought it was nothing serious.” Liam said.

“Just to be sure.” The doctor assured them and called a nurse. “They will prepare you now, Zayn, and we should have the results in a couple of hours.”

Dr. Cooper must have noticed the couple’s uneasiness, because he approached them and patted both man on the back before leaving the room.

The next hour and a half passed and soon both of them found themselves in Dr. Cooper’s 

“I’m nervous, Li.” Zayn confessed as he gripped his fiancé’s hand.

“I know.” Liam murmured and kissed Zayn’s forehead. “I’m nervous too.”

Liam wanted to say more, to put his lover at ease, but really, he didn’t knew what was going on, he was truly worried about Zayn, there was no point in trying to pretend that he wasn’t.

Just as he was about to say something more, Dr. Cooper entered the room, a solemn expression painting his face.

“I’m afraid I don’t have good knews, boys.” He said with a grim expression. “I looked at your results, Zayn, and what you have is called an Astrocytoma Tumor.”

“What is that?” Liam demanded and both man saw the doctor brace himself for the next sentence.

“It’s brain cancer.” 

Zayn couldn’t breath. 

His vision was turning black and he couldn’t breath. He felt like all the air had left his lungs. He felt dizzy. But above all else, he felt like a ton of bricks had been dumped right over his head.

He felt his body being pulled into Liam’s and felt his arm being shaken, so he turned his head to look at him. He could see his mouth moving but he couldn’t hear a word of what was being said. Perhaps, if he waited long enough, the doctor would say that it was all a mistake, that his results had gotten mixed up with someone else’s. Zayn frowned and blinked once more, Liam’s mouth was still moving, he tried his best to focus on what he was probably saying. “Zayn? Zayn, babe, look at me!”

Zayn blinked a couple of times, took a few deep breaths and when he felt like he could speak again, when he felt like the lump on his throat had subsided, only then he opened his mouth.

“I’m okay.” He murmured and felt Liam placing a glass of water in his hand. 

He took a few sips, but it didn’t settled right in his stomach, so he placed it on top of Dr. Cooper’s desk.

“How... How serious is it?” He asked the doctor.

“There are four stages, You’re stage three.”

“Fuck.” He heard Liam murmur and felt him grip his hand tighter. “What about treatment?”

“Right now, we need to do a biopsy of the tumor, but the next step would be surgery to remove as much of it as we can, then we can start with radiation and chemoterapy.”

“When can we do that?” Liam asked and Zayn thanked God for his fiancé because he was feeling so detached from the situation that he could barely keep up with what was being said.

“As soon as possible, given the advanced stage. I’m going to schedule the biopsy right now and after we get those results, we can schedule the surgery.” 

The doctor looked at the young couple in front of him, so scared and lost, his expression softened.

“What Zayn have, to be really specific, is a Pineal Astrocytic Tumor. It forms around the pineal gland, which produces melatonin. Melatonin is responsible for controling sleep and waking.” The doctor looked at the young couple as they nodded. “Right now, you have to keep an eye out for a few things. Zayn, if you pass out at any point or have seizures, come straight here. Nausea, dizziness and drowsiness are regular symptoms and are to be expected. Also, you should prepare yourselves to changes in behavior and humor. But if you feel any type of numbness or loss of control of your hands or legs, you come back here so we can run some more exams” 

He gave the two young man a few minutes to process all the information and sighed.

“You should go home now. Give yourselves time to process, call your families.” 

“I have a question.” Zayn said in a small voice.

“Yes?”

“Will I loose my hair?” Zayn’s eyes were wide, his expression open and scared. 

Dr. Cooper’s face softened. He had been practicing medicine for a long time now, was an oncologist for thirty-five years, but it was never easy to deliver the news to someone. 

“I’m afraid so, yes.” He nodded and Zayn lowered his eyes. “Leslie will give you a card with the day of the biopsy. I’m very sorry, Zayn.”

The young couple nodded and stood up, shaking the doctor’s hand and making their way out of the room.

Their driver was waiting outside to take them home. 

The drive home was silent, both men lost in their own thoughts but never once letting go of each other.

As they rode the elevator up to the last floor of their building, Liam held most of Zayn’s weight, as the other man was almost asleep.

Liam carried Zayn from the elevator to the bedroom and sat him down on the bed.

“Here, love, let me help you get out of this clothes.” Liam said in a soft voice as he undid Zayn’s laces, taking out his boots, then his tight jeans and his sweater, dressing him in one of his own hoodies. He placed Zayn on the bed and covered him with the duvet, when he looked up to say goodnight, Zayn was already asleep.

Liam made his way out of the room, leaving the door ajar. He made his way downstairs and poured himself a glass of whisky, downing all of it in one go and topping his glass. Only then, behind the closed doors of his office, he allowed himself to cry.

Sunday, 10:30 a.m.

Zayn woke up with a shudder. He was feeling very cold. 

Looking to the side, he didn’t find Liam, as he checked the clock, he could understand why. Liam was an early-riser. At this time of the morning he had probably already went for his morning run and his work-out session, showered and was sitting downstairs at their living room, reading the Times.

Zayn closed his eyes firmly once the previous night came rushing back to him. He felt a strong urge to scream, oddly, he didn’t feel like crying. He tossed his arm over his eyes. Logically, he knew he had a long way to recovery, if he even recovered, that was. He bit his lip until it almost drew blood to stop himself from shouting at the universe about his situation.

What worried him the most, though, was Liam. What would Liam even do? He knew that Liam would never break up their engagement, but what would happen to Liam if he died?

And his family, too. How was he going to tell them? His mum would be devasteted and his Baba would get that same faraway look that he got when his Naan had passed. And what about his sisters? How would he even tell them? They were all so close, him and Donyia being confidents for as long as he could remember. And Safaa and Wali were so young, they shouldn’t have to deal with that. None of them should.

It was so unfair! 

Zayn took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds and let it out trough his mouth. He repeated the action five more times until his head didn’t feel like it was spinning and he didn’t feel like screaming anymore.

Getting up, he had to brace himself on the bedside table, suddenly feeling dizzy. He closed his eyes one more time and breathed. Once he was feeling better, he slowly made his way to the bathroom so he could take a shower, maybe it would help him feel a bit better.

He turned on the shower, his eyes fixated on the running water. He came back to his senses when he felt the steam around him. Zayn undressed himself and got into the shower. He let the overly hot water run down his body for a few minutes, taking his time, he washed his hair and his body.

He let his thoughts run wild, then. Didn’t feel like going out and facing the world. Facing Liam.

Zayn thought about flowers.

White carnations and sunflowers. His chosen flowers for his wedding.

He thought about how nice they would look on the fancy bouquets that would be decorating the garden where they would get married. How delicate and happy they would look on the sides of the aisle and mixed with candles on top of the tables.

He thought about the fairy lights and the small, round candles that would dangle around the garden on the evening of the reception, looking so romantic and making the place look cozy. 

He thought about the pearl and cream colored table cloths and the fancy plates and cutlery that Liam insisted that they just should have.

He thought about tall wine glasses and champagne crystal flutes and cloth napkins. About a jazz band to play during dinner and about a great DJ from Louis’ label to play during the party so they all could dance. About Saint-Laurent tuxedos and opal cufflinks. About a white gold and diamond ring on his finger and about fancy dress shoes. About a sunny day that shouldn’t be too warm, perfect for a spring wedding.

Maybe all of that planning was for nothing now. Maybe it would never happen.

He heard a sniffle, then two and three. He blinked a few times and realized that he was crying.

Zayn shook his head quickly and rubbed his eyes. He realized that he wasn’t crying because he was scared of dying or angry for being sick. Zayn was crying because he didn’t knew. Didn’t knew what was going to happen. He was crying because of the uncertainty of his situation.

He closed off the shower and got out, drying himself and his hair. 

Zayn got to the walk-in closet and pulled out one of his sweatpants and one of Liam’s hoodies, putting on thick socks, and exiting the room.

As Zayn got to the top of the staircase, he took a deep, calming breath and braced himself for a day full of delivering bad news.

He walked down the big staircase and into the living room.

He was mistaken, Zayn realized. Liam wasn’t reading the morning paper, no. He had his back turned to the big room and was looking down to New York’s tall buildings and busy streets. He was clad much like Zayn, in sweatpants and a white henley, his feet bare. In his hands, he cradled a big coffee mug, but it seemed to have gone cold, for he wasn’t drinking from it, seeming lost in thought.

Zayn cleared his throat and called over in a low murmur.

“Morning.”

He watched as Liam turned around and could barely handle the look in his eyes.

Zayn didn’t knew what he was expecting but he felt his own eyes grow misty as he was faced with pure despair.

They looked at one another for a few moments and Zayn decided that he needed to touch. Craved Liam’s gentle ministrations and soft kisses. He walked forward and wrapped his arms around Liam’s muscled torso, hiding his face on his chest.

He heard Liam taking a breath and felt his right arm going around his shoulders, Liam’s lips kissing the top of his head.

“Morning, my darling.” Liam whispered.

They hugged for long minutes. Eventually, Zayn looked up at Liam and he felt Liam’s fingers tracing the side of his face and below his eyes.

Zayn closed his eyes, then. He knew Liam was taking notice of his own red eyes and puffy face from crying in the shower earlier.

Instead of asking, Liam kissed Zayn’s forehead. Both of his eyes, his cheeks and the tip of his nose. Finally, he gently kissed Zayn’s lips. It was barely a kiss, just a press of lips. But it said all that Zayn needed to hear.

It said: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here with you. You are not walking this road alone.”

They stayed like that. Holding each other and a cold cup of coffee for some time, until Liam’s phone ringed on the coffee table. Louis’ face appearing on the screen. None of them answered it.

“We have to tell them, I suppose.” Zayn said and Liam watched him. “I think we should tell my parentes first, though.”

“Do you want them to come over?” Liam asked and Zayn shook his head.

“No. My parents are in Denmark for a meeting and yours are on vacation, I don’t want to wait for them to come back.”

“Are you sure, love?” Liam frowned.

“Yeah, I don’t think I can bear the look on their faces when I tell them.” Zayn pondered for a few seconds. “Would you mind telling your parents and your sisters? I have to tell Mum and Baba, I’ll ask them to tell the girls. And I have to tell the boys.”

“Of course I don’t mind, darling.” Liam murmured as he nodded. “Do you want to call them now? I think that you should have some breakfast first.”

“I’m not really hungry, feeling a bit sick.” He confessed and Liam frowned. “I’ll eat something later, I promise. I just want to get this out of the way, first.”

He could tell that Liam didn’t like that idea, but he agreed with it anyway.

They moved to the couch and got comfortable, Liam’s arm thrown over Zayn’s shoulders. 

“Are you ready?” Liam checked and Zayn nodded and braced himself.

Liam nodded and pressed the button on his laptop to iniciate the call to Zayn’s parents.

Two familiar figures appeared on the screen after just two rings. His mum familiar hairdo and fancy blouse, her lips red even though it was morning and his Baba clad in a suit. Zayn felt fondness rush trough his body as he looked at them.

“Hi, pumpkin.” His mum greeted and Zayn smiled a bit at her gentle tone.

“Hey mum, hi Baba.” He greeted.

“Hi boys.” Yaser greeted. “We were about to call you.”

“How’s Denmark?” Zayn asked.

“Just fabulous, honey, beautiful gardens, your Baba took me to beautiful places after his meetings were done.”

“That’s nice.” Zayn smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

Tricia squinted at him trough the screen and a deep frown appeared on her beautiful face. “What’s wrong, honey? You look worried.”

Zayn gulped and he felt Liam squeezing his shoulder and saw him nod from the corner of his eye.

“Actually, something happened last night.” He started and saw their matching frowns. “I, uh, I fainted and had to go to the hospital.”

“Is everything alright, beta?” His Baba asked and Zayn had to blink a few times.

“No, Baba.” He confessed and looked down at his hands, Liam’s hand covering his own so they would stop wriggling. “The doctor had to run a few exams and a MRI, they say I have something called an Astrocytoma Tumor.”

“Tumor?” Tricia exclaimed and he saw Yaser hugging her close.

“Beta, what are you saying?”

“I have brain cancer, Baba.”

They stayed on the call as Zayn’s parents cried and asked many questions about treatment and what to do next and did Zayn want them to come back sooner? Zayn declined the offer and, alongside with Liam, he answered all of their questions. The call disconnected when Tricia looked too distressed to talk and they said their goodbyes, Yaser assuring them he would calm Tricia down and Liam assuring Yaser and Tricia that he would take care of Zayn.

“Fuck.” Zayn whispered as he collapsed against Liam’s body, feeling overly tired, even though he had just woken up.

By the time they broke apart, it was lunch time and Liam made sure to feed Zayn soup and grilled cheese.

They stayed like that during the entire afternoon, holding each other and watching old re-runs of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

The sun was setting when there was a knock on the front door and a booming voice yelling from outside.

“Liam Payne, I know you two are in there, open the door!” Zayn was startled from his light dozing as he heard it and Liam got up to answer it.

Zayn watched through bleary eyes as Harry, Louis and Niall followed Liam into the living room, all of them looking worried.

“We’ve been calling you two all day!” Harry cried. “We were worried.”

“Yeah, all Liam said on his text was that they ran a few exams and then that he was bringing you home.” Niall complemented.

Liam and Zayn traded a look and Zayn nodded from his nest of blankets on the couch.

“Guys, what’s going on?” Louis asked and Zayn breathed in, bracing himself for the next few minutes.

“They ran a few exams last night, a MRI, too.” He looked at them and looked back down at his hands, Liam a comforting presence at his side.

“Everything’s good, though, right?” Louis asked.

“Not really.” Zayn licked his lips and decided to just tell them at once. “I have something called an Astrocytoma Tumor.” He took a breath and looked up, a slight frown marring his face. “It’s brain cancer.”

Silence fell down on the room then. They could hear a pin drop. Zayn risked looking up and, as soon as he did, he was faced with an open mouthed Niall and a red faced Louis. He looked at Harry then, his best friend ever since they were four, he looked devastated.

“Guys-“ Zayn started but it was promptly stopped by an armful of a crying Harry.

He didn’t say anything, no one did, they just watched the two friends holding one another, crying at the unfairness of it all.

Eventually, Louis walked forward and placed his hand on Harry’s shoulders.

“C’mon, love, you gotta let Zayn breath a bit, yeah? You’re crushing him.” His voice was gentle.

Harry sniffled and let himself be pulled up, taking a seat across from Zayn, Louis by his side and Niall on the other.

Only then did Liam sat down.

“What about treatment, then?” Niall asked.

“I have to do a biopsy first, then there’s surgery and radiation and chemotherapy.” Zayn explained.

“Is there anything we can do?” Louis asked and Zayn shook his head.

“There’s not much to do, I suppose.” Zayn said. “All there is to do now is go with the flow.” He stated and saw they were about to say something else. “It’s okay, guys, really. It sucks and it’s unfair and I honestly feel like screaming all the time, but it’s going to be fine.” 

The look on everyone’s faces said that they didn’t believe a word that he said. Zayn should mind, he thought, that they didn’t believe on his word. But it was okay.

He didn’t believe it either.


End file.
